An ongoing adventure of travel and living while using a wheelchair. Tim has been disabled from birth. Darryl is his father and caregiver who travels with him.
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All content, images, and video copyright 2009,2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 - Darryl, Letty, and Tim Musick

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

JUST A REMINDER: The World on Wheels is an Amazon affiliate. When you shop through the Amazon links on our page you support our efforts to provide the best in accessible travel information at no cost to yourself. I really appreciate our supporters who use our Amazon links!

Airfares are high, planes are cramped, and service leaves much to be desired...why not take a road trip?Here are some great gift ideas for your road-tripping friends...

For less than $90, give the gift of never being lost again with a GPS unit with lifetime map updates.

Road trips are always easier with some cool drinks and snacks handy. The flat top of this ice chest alsodoubles as a tray.

Keep your drinks cold and the mess out by using this ice blanket instead of ice. Wrap around the walls of your cooler and never see a melt puddle again.

For no mess or fuss at all, an electric cooler (that plugs into your lighter) works without ice or having to freeze your Blue Ice. Turn the plug over and it becomes a food warmer. We use this for bringing meat home on the road without spoilage.

Road trips often involve long stretches of continuous driving. If it's not your turn behind the wheel, make yourself comfortable and take a soothing nap with this inflatable neck pillow.

Finally, make those long stretches a little less boring with a massive collection of music on your iPod. This 160GB model will hold thousands and thousands of tunes to keep you awake and entertained on your way to your destination.Happy Holiday shopping!Darryl

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

JUST A REMINDER: The World on Wheels is an Amazon affiliate. When you shop through the Amazon links on our page you support our efforts to provide the best in accessible travel information at no cost to yourself. I really appreciate our supporters who use our Amazon links!

Here are some items we at The World on Wheels like and think would make a great addition to your Christmas gift list.As I write this, I'm sitting in a Best Western in California's Motherlode and Letty has informed me that she forgot our toiletry bag. Dang...hate when that happens...but be sure you have a good toiletry kit available. Start with this oral care kit from Dr. Fresh. With four kits, there's enough for the whole family.

You can also get this travel kit from Donavan that includes deodorant, razor, shaving cream and more...

To carry your gear, we recommend a lightweight, folding, and hanging flat bag that you can just hang on the bathroom hook when you get to your hotel. This bag from Lewis N. Clark fits the bill.

My wife wouldn't want me to finish this list of travel grooming accessories without mentioning a good hair dryer and curling iron combo for travelers, so here you go...

That's it for our Black Friday list but we'll be back with more recommendations as the gift giving season continues.Stay tuned...

Saturday, November 17, 2012

JUST A REMINDER: The World on Wheels is an Amazon affiliate. When you shop through the Amazon links on our page you support our efforts to provide the best in accessible travel information at no cost to yourself. I really appreciate our supporters who use our Amazon links!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Denver is a very large city surrounded by a patchwork of smaller towns, plains, and mountains. It's transit system is actively growing and is not quite a mature system. Some things work quite well, others are OK, and there are still patches where transit is not yet a viable option.

LIGHT RAIL - Currently, there are five lines that make up the light rail system. It runs two lines to the south to Englewood and Littleton and terminates at two points to the north of downtown, 30th and Downing and Union Station at the western end of the 16th Street Mall.

Inside, the trains are clean, modern, and fast. For wheelchair users, there is a raised platform at the end of each station at the driver's end. A manual ramp is deployed by the driver to allow chairs and strollers to board. In this configuration, up to three wheelchairs or strollers can be on any given train. The trains themselves have a much larger capacity. Either 12 or 18 chairs/strollers can be on a train (depending on if it is a 2 or 3 car train) and if the platforms were built to train level instead of below it, more chair users could be accomodated.

New lines under construction are also following the lower platform model the current stations have.

Chair users must tell the driver where they plan on exiting so the ramp can be deployed. This seems like a missed opportunity in universal design and puts an extra burden on wheelchair users that the general public does not have.

Another egregious lapse in the system is that it does not serve the airport but a line is under construction and service to the airport is expected to begin in 2016. To the west, a new line to Golden that will get you close...but not quite...to the Coors brewery will open in 2013.

BUSES - The buses run by the RTD are like most cities in the U.S. A lift or ramp is deployed from the front door and up to two wheelchairs can be accomodated in each bus. Tie-downs are installed in each position.

The bus system covers a much larger area reaching towns in the nearby Rockies to the west; Boulder to the north; Denver International Aiport to the east, and the county line to the south.

16th STREET MALL FREE SHUTTLE - One of the stars of the transit system here is the shuttle that moves people back and forth along the mile long 16th Street Mall from Union Station on the west end to the Capitol Building on the east end. Just about anything you want to do in downtown is within 3 blocks of this route.

The buses are electric/hybrids and have multiple entry doors like trains. Wheelchairs enter via the second door where the driver can deploy a manual ramp. It's an easy entrance into the two wheelchair locations and tie-downs are available. Buses run every couple of minutes and are among the easiest I've seen for wheelchair entrance and exit. They are also free.

SKYRIDE - RTD also operates a bus service to the airport via large buses that serve Englewood to the south, downtown, Broomfield to the north, and Lakewood to the west. It also connects with several light rail stations. Fares run $9, $11, or $13 each way.

Unless noted above, the basic fare on buses or light rail is $2.25 (disabled $1.10), which is in the high range for most transit systems.

Day and multi-day passes are also available, which would make it a little more affordable for travelers, except that they're not available at the stations...you have to buy them at approved retailers such as Safeway. This makes it pretty hard for a traveler to get one when they're in town.

-Darryl

Copyright 2011 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Front Range Express provides accessible bus service between Denver and Colorado Springs for $11 each way.